


Returning Home

by SlytherinHead



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-04-15
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2017-11-03 17:36:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/384085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherinHead/pseuds/SlytherinHead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tobias Snape wakes up from a horrible nightmare where his only son, Severus is brutally murdered.But was it really just a dream?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer - I don't own anything. This work is purely for entertainment reason and I make no profit from it.  
>  Any parts you may recognize were taken, and tweaked from the last book to allow the creation of this story.**

"Kill"

There was a horrible scream. Snape's face lost the little colour it had left; it whitened, as his black eyes widened, as the snake's fangs pierced his neck, as he failed to push the enchanted cage off himself, as his knees gave way, and he fell to the floor.

* * *

Miles away a man named Tobias Snape woke up with a start. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he slowly tried to regain his breath. Cold sweat covered his forehead as he held his head in his hands. Taking deep breaths, he willed his heart to calm down. He could feel his whole body shaking as if he had just run a marathon.

Suddenly, something in him broke and he was crying. He had the same dream again. The one were his boy was brutally murdered. It was always the same, the great snake, a run-down room, and a man that looked like a snake with red eyes. Tobias had been having the dream for almost a year now. When it had first started, he dreamt it once in a while, but in the last two weeks it had him waking up every night. The first night he had dreamt it, Tobias didn't know who the man being murdered was. It wasn't until the third dream that he realized it was his son, Severus Snape.

It had been years since Tobias had last seen his son. Severus had left the Spinner's End right after he had returned from Hogwarts, fresh from his 6th year. It had been the same year when Eileen had died. With his wife dead and his only son gone, Tobias had finally seen the damage that he had done to his family with his abusive behaviour. Soon after he vowed on his wife's grave that he would never drink another drop of alcohol ever again. Tobias had also searched high and low for his son, but it was soon obvious that Severus had moved to the magical world. It broke his heart to know that he had driven his only child away from him. 

After three years of not being able to find Severus, Tobias decided to leave his house in Spinner's End, and move to a small neighbourhood near Norwich. He found a good support group for his alcoholism and managed to get a good job as a repair man at the local theatre. Tobias decided against selling Spinner's End, leaving it for Severus just in case his son needed a place to live, he just made sure that the deed to the house showed that. It wasn't much, but it was certainly better than nothing. Whether his son ever found the empty house or not, he didn't know. He had asked a few of his old acquaintances if they had seen anyone move in, but they had informed him that the place looked as empty as when he had left it. 

Tobias wasn't very religious, but he always prayed that Severus was okay and that he was safe. He found it ironic that when Severus was just a small boy, he could not have cared less about what happened to his son. He knew he had been such a fool, an imbecile, and a coward during Severus' childhood. He shouldn't have cared if his son didn't take after him. He should have been proud that Severus would one day become someone incredibility intelligent. But he had been afraid at how strong his son seemed to be. Eileen had even said it herself, had told him one night that Severus' accidental magic had occurred much earlier than the normal child. That statement had scared him more than he could ever imagine. 

If Severus was that strong as a baby, what would happen when he got older? Would he turn his father into a dog if he was grounded? Or would he kill them if he wasn't allowed to do as he wanted? Those thoughts had run through his mind like a disease and before he knew it, everything had begun to crumble around him. He had lost his job at the local mill and couldn't find work anywhere else. Eileen had tried to reassure him, telling him that she could take up a job in the magical world. If anything, that had angered him even more. He was the one who was supposed to provide for his family, not his wife. 

Not knowing what to do, he had turned to alcohol, and lost himself to it for many years. Tobias wished now, that he could turn back the hands of time and knock some sense into his younger self. He would have told him to get a hold of himself and to take care of his family. To nourish his son's magical abilities and to try and help his wife as much as he could. He knew he could have done so, he was good with repair work, and he could have gone into the city to look for a job there. But he had let his pride drive him to the bottle. 

It was little wonder that his son had hated him and had left as soon as he could. Tobias at least was confident enough in knowing that Severus had found a place to stay before leaving. His son was smart and would have made all the necessary arrangements to make sure that he never had to ask his old man for anything. Even knowing that, though, didn't help Tobias at all. He would wonder sometimes what he would say to his son if he ever got the chance to see him again. That was if Severus would allow him to say anything. He knew his son was just as stubborn as he was and would never allow him to even say, “I'm sorry”. 

After a couple of minutes of crying Tobias made his way to his bathroom where he washed his face with cool water. When he was done he walked to the kitchen for a warm glass of milk. He wasn't planning on going back to sleep but he needed something to sooth his nerves. Thinking that perhaps watching some telly might take his mind off his dream, Tobias made his way towards the living room. 

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light in front of him. Letting the glass of milk fall to the ground Tobias tried to shield his eyes from the light and took cover behind the kitchen worktop. After a couple of minutes of trying to adjust his eyes again, Tobias heard a soft cry. It sounded like a song, he wondered if it was a bird but he didn't know what kind of bird made a sound like that.

Slowly getting to his feet Tobias looked over the worktop and saw a most magnificent bird on top of his dinning table. It had red feathers that looked soft as silk; the bird's eyes held an amazing power and it stood tall with pride. For some reason, Tobias was not afraid of the creature but actually felt comforted by it. Mesmerized, Tobias began to make his way around the counter to get a better look at the bird, when he saw something on the floor that almost made his heart stop.

"Oh, good God! Severus!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I don't own it! Never have and never will. I'm Not JKR. She is the lucky one that has Severus. If he was mine then I wouldn't let him out of my sight for even a minute.

 

Tobias slowly made his way towards the body on the floor. He didn't know if his son was alive or not. Praying as he kneeled down to his son's body, Tobias carefully touched Severus' face. It was still warm, but it looked deathly white. Turning Severus on his back, Tobias saw the huge snake bite that had plagued his dreams for a year now. He didn't know how Severus was still alive. He could see his son struggling to breathe properly.

He didn't want to pick Severus up in fear of hurting him, but he couldn't leave him on the floor. Finally making his mind up, he carefully picked Severus up and was alarmed at how light he was. Making his way to his bedroom he placed Severus on his bed and quickly retrieved some cloths to stop the bleeding. Tobias was panicking, he didn't want to leave his son alone, but he also didn't want to lose him again, and this time for ever. He couldn't call an ambulance because then he would have to try and explain how Severus not only got hurt but how he suddenly got to his home in the middle of the night.

"Oh, well, you see my son is a wizard. That's how he got to my home. Yes I know, sounds crazy. But he was attacked by a big, vicious snake. Where did the snake come from? Oh, that's easy. The man with the snake face owns it. No I haven't been drinking!"

Looking around the room, his eyes fell once again on the bird that he assumed had brought Severus to him. Glancing down at his son, he saw that somehow Severus was even whiter than when he had found him. Suddenly, he knew what to do. There was a man across the street from him that was a doctor. He would make sure that the bird would stay with his son and he would go and get the doctor. "Okay you," he said looking at the red bird. "Please stay with Severus, and keep an eye on him. I'm going to get help. I promise I won't be long." Saying the last part to Severus, Tobias quickly pulled his boots on and stormed out of the house.

Once he was standing outside the house of the doctor, Tobias started pounding on the door. He didn't dare shout even thought he desperately wanted to, but he didn't want any of the neighbors to know what was going on. Seeing the light turn on he stopped pounding on the door and waited for it to open.

"For crying out loud! Do you have any idea what time it is?" came a shout from the inside.

"Doctor Marcus, it's Tobias Snape. Please, open up!"

The door opened and a short man appeared wearing purple pajamas. His hair was white and sticking from odd angles and his jaw was covered in his morning beard.

oooOooo

Trying to focus his eyes, the doctor finally recognized Tobias. "It's almost three in the morning," Doctor Marcus said as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "Someone better be dying for you to wake me up so early."

"Doctor Marcus, it's my son. I can't explain it but please come with me. He is hurt. I managed to stop the bleeding but he needs your help. Please! He's my only son."

Seeing the desperation in the old man's face, Doctor Marcus nodded and went to his office running to gather his doctor's kit. He ran back to the front door and stepped outside. Following Tobias, he made his way towards the old man's home. Upon entering the house, a strong smell of blood hit his nose. He wondered briefly how bad this person was to leave such a stench. He continued to follow Tobias towards the bedroom and when he entered the room his eyes widened as he looked at the man lying on the bed. Doctor Marcus stopped dead in his tracks as he stood at the doorway of the bedroom. Anger filled his body, as he looked on to the man lying on the bed dying.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Tobias asked as he saw the doctor stop in his tracks, the emotion playing on the man's face did not go un-noticed by Tobias. But maybe he was seeing things.

"No, Mr. Snape. It's just the shock of seeing someone like this…it's hard to control that emotion," Doctor Marcus said as he tried to avoid eye contact with Tobias. Fully awake now, he quickly made his way towards the bed and pulled out plastic gloves from his kit. Throwing another pair to Tobias, he said, "We need to remove his clothes and see if he has any other injuries."

They worked in silence carefully removing Severus' clothes from him. Tobias was preparing himself for when Doctor Marcus asked why Severus was wearing robes, but the question never came. Once done, Doctor Marcus only saw the wound on the neck that needed to be taken care of. Carefully cleaning the injury, he began to stitch Severus. The doctor wanted to ask Tobias how his son got hurt, but he knew that he wasn't going to be told anything he didn't need to know. Once done, he cleaned up the wound and put a gauze on it.

Tobias watched carefully as the doctor tried to save his son's life. He knew that the doctor wanted to ask what happened to Severus with the way that he kept frowning. Tobias wondered if calling on the doctor had been such a great idea. There seems to be anger in the man's eyes as he looked at Severus. Suddenly feeling more protective of his son than ever, Tobias took Severus' hand in his own and held it to his chest. Seeing Severus beginning to shiver he said, "Doctor, he's burning up. Is there anything you could give him?"

"I'm sorry I can't risk giving your son anything. His injury looks like he was bitten by something. If it was poisonous then from the looks of things someone already gave him the antidote. 'But, he mused, 'I wonder if someone gave him a magical antidote.' Since I don't know what bit him or what he was given, I'm afraid I can't give your son anything for the fever. He is just going to have to let his body take care of it."

'Besides, I doubt a hospital will know what to do with a patient like him if he is taken to one,' Doctor Marcus thought to himself.

Throwing away his gloves, he began to pack his things away. Once done, he motioned for Tobias to walk him out. When they reached the front door Doctor Marcus placed a hand on Tobias' shoulder and said, "I did everything I could for your son. The only thing we can do now is wait. I have to warn you though; your son's chances of surviving are very low. Please brace yourself for the worst. I'll come by again in a couple of hours. If anything else happens, call me right away. Goodbye."

Not being able to say anything, Tobias quietly closed the door and made his way back to his son.

**Author's Note:**

> If there's anyone who has felt like they've read this story before over at ffnet, you have. The only reason why it's not like the copy on that site is because I've been working on re-editing all the chapters leading up to the last two chapters of the story. I will not update the one at ffnet until I'm absolutely done with all the edits, but since I have yet to post the story here, I'll be posting the new and improve chapters on this site. 
> 
> A huge thank you to my beta's: debjunk, MadameGiry25 and Kiwiflea, for all of their help. I couldn't have done it without them!
> 
> Please, let me know what you think!


End file.
